Into the West
by CaptainArwenPond221B
Summary: Legolas' deep longing for the sea has been growing for years, but he is unwilling to leave any of his friends behind. At last, however, he is able to leave for Valinor and see what he's always longed to see: the ocean. One-shot. Summary kinda sucks, but oh well. Please review!


Into the West

Ever since traveling with Aragorn to bring help to their allies in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, it seemed to Legolas that even the rustle of the wind in the trees brought to mind the far-off sound of waves on the seashore, and the cries of the forest birds reminded him of the gulls and their sharp, wheeling flight. After he first told his friends of his new longing for the sea, he never brought up the matter again, although daily he felt the call of the waves in his bones and blood like many of his kin before him. He had, for the first time, a burning desire to see the Grey Havens, and to board one of the ships to the white shores of Valinor.

At first, it was easy to ignore the sea's plaintive calls, as he was able to distract himself with Aragorn's coronation and wedding and, later, the tending of Ithilien, but slowly he began to have time to himself. He could no longer avoid this new need to go to the shores and stand in the surf and hear the intoxicating song that was the ocean.

Gimli was completely unaware of Legolas' struggle. The dwarf was quite excited to show his friend the Glittering Caves of Aglarond (although he was not nearly so pleased that he'd soon have to visit Fangorn Forest), and as the time drew near for them to leave on that adventure, Legolas was pleasantly distracted by his friend's earnestness. All the same, slowly and surely the elf was realizing that he would not long stay in Middle Earth,

Despite this, many years passed before Legolas at last grew truly weary of staying, as the descendants of Numenor died and everything he loved began to disappear from the green earth. The Ringbearers left on one of the last grey ships. Aragorn died, Arwen grieved, and then she too died. Cirdan left Middle Earth, too, and there remained no grey ships to take Legolas home to the Valar. In truth, he only stayed for Gimli's sake.

It was several years after Cirdan left that Legolas began to build his own ship in Ithilien. He told no one of this, simply withdrawing to his own company for days at a time and leaving those who knew him to wonder where he was. All of his waking dreams were of Valinor and the vast sea.

It was then that Legolas decided to petition the Valar on Gimli's behalf, as he could not bear to leave the dwarf behind. Gimli was named elf-friend by Lady Galadriel, after all, and he'd done his part in the War of the Ring admirably. Legolas still did not tell his friend about any of this, however. He did not really believe that a dwarf, a son of stone, would be allowed into Valinor like Eru's children. And yet he hoped.

Perhaps the Valar were moved by the friendship between Legolas Thranduillion and Gimli, Gloin's son. Perhaps Legolas' prayers were heard and favored because of his role in the saving of Middle Earth. I doubt we shall ever know. Whatever happened, when Legolas began to sail down the Anduin towards the sea, Gimli traveled with him, grumbling about how dwarves most certainly did not belong on the water and how there had better be some mountains in this eternal country or he would go home. Legolas was rather too busy listening for the first sound of a seagull's cry to fall on his sharp ears to pay attention to his friend's complaining.

He was not disappointed by his first true glimpse of the ocean. They drew near to the mouth of the Anduin, and Legolas saw, glittering under the light of the sun, a vast expanse of blue water, broken only by white lines of foam on the edges of waves. Gulls circled and cried above them, their white wings speckled with droplets of shimmering water. Legolas breathed in the salty air with a sigh.

"Now there's a sight," Gimli muttered, his gruff voice breaking the relative silence.

"Aye," the elf agreed, smiling.

They sailed for days, or months, or perhaps ages beyond count. There was no time on the Western sea, just sunrise and sunset and soft water. The further they sailed, however, the brighter grew the sky and the sweeter grew the water, until finally water and sky rolled together in a curtain of silver mist like glass, and again melted away to reveal pure white sand and green hills and waterfalls and river and mountains and light, so much light, and there were familiar hands to help them out of the ship and familiar voices greeting them and laughing.

I cannot tell you what passed after that, for Valinor is a land that the race of men does not know. I think, however, it would be safe to say that there was no more pain for any of them anymore, and that they experienced joys and pleasures beyond all our feeble imaginings.

"What can you see  
On the horizon?  
Why do the white gulls call?  
Across the sea  
A pale moon rises  
The ships have come to carry you home.  
And all will turn  
To silver glass  
A light on the water  
Grey ships pass  
Into the West."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was my first Lord of the Rings fanfiction. I hadn't planned to ever write one, but I did. Yay me! For the most part, everything is written in my style, although I did try to imitate Tolkien's style a bit. This is based on the conversation in _Return of the King_ in which Legolas and Gimli tell the hobbits about their journey with Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead, when Legolas reveals that hearing the gulls made him long for the Sea. The line in here about the sky getting brighter and water getting sweeter was sort of from _Voyage of the Dawn Treader_ (the book). If you've read it, you know that the farther East you sale in Narnia, the closer you get to Aslan's country. But, enough of my background info. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lord of the Rings or Narnia or Annie Lennox's song Into the West or any of that stuff. Wish I did. But I don't.**


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